Anacondas: Hunt for the Blood Orchid
by TW712
Summary: Bill Johnson/ OC
1. Chapter 1

I had just gotten off work and was headed to the market area to buy some stuff to make for dinner. I was looking at some fruits, I had just picked up a mango when a small monkey took it right out my hand. I looked up and it was a white capuchin monkey. That puzzled me because they aren't native to this area.

"Well that wasn't very nice was it?" I said and he just looked at me

"I'll tell you what? Why don't you hand it over so I can pay for it and we'll split it together?" I said I felt kind of silly at first for talking to a monkey, but that passed when he let out a squeak of approval and handed me the mango.

"Thank you." I said then when and paid for it, just then the monkey climb on my shoulder making me laugh

"You are just too adorable, who do you belong to huh?" Just as I said that I heard a voice

"Kong no!" I turned and saw a man in a black tee shirt and jeans wearing a baseball cap coming towards us, he stopped in front of us

"Kong what have I told you about running off." The man said to the monkey who had just covered his eyes trying to hide, I let out a small laugh

"Kong here." He said holding out his arm, and the monkey jumped from my shoulder to his

"I'm so sorry miss."

"It's fine he was no problem."

"Yeah I'm not sure if I believe that, he's always in trouble." The man said making me laugh. Then he looked at me and smiled which I quickly returned he was good looking.

"Bill Johnson, and this troublemaker is Kong." He said introducing himself and his monkey

"Malia Green it's nice to meet you."

"You live around here?" He asked

"Yeah I work at the clinic." I said and he nodded

"What about you? I've never seen you around here." I said

"I own a boat, I work on the river." He answered

"You're a fisherman?" I asked

"No, I just take people where they need to go." He said

"That's sounds really cool."

"It's a living." He shrugged

"Well maybe you could show me your boat some time." I said, I couldn't believe I was flirting with a stranger

"Well are you doing anything now?" He asked with a smile

"Nope."

"Well come on I'll show you my boat." He and I thought about it for a minute. This guy could be a serial killer and his boat could just be his way of leading me to my death. Then again he could just be a really nice guy.

"Malia!" Bill called my name pulling me from my thoughts

"Huh?"

"You looked really deep in thought for a while there." He said giving me a small smile

"Yeah I was sorry about that." I said feeling myself starting to blush

"It's okay so do you just want to do this any day? I mean if you're not feeling up to it"

"No, no, no I would love to see your boat. Just let me finish grabbing what I need here then we can go." I said deciding to take a chance. I grabbed the rest of my groceries, then found Bill off to the side with Kong

"Are you ready?" He asked me

"Yep." I said then Bill grabbed my bag from me

"Bill you don't have to." I argued trying to take my bag back but he just held it out of my reach

"I know but I want to, I'm not a total savage." He joked making me laugh

"Good to know." I said as Kong climbed on my shoulder

"He likes you."

"Well I like him too he's sweet." I said

We fell into silence as we walked toward the docks. It was only about a ten minute walk from the market area. When we got there I looked around when Bill pointed the boat out

"There she is the 'Bloody Mary'" He said proudly pointing at the ugliest boat I've ever seen it was put together by random pieces of stuff.

"Yeah I know." Bill said as we walked toward the boat. Bill jumped up on it then helped me up. I liked the inside of the boat a lot better than the outside. The inside had a nice homey feel to it.

"It's not much but-"

"But it's yours, and I like it." I said cutting him off

"You like the 'Bloody Mary'?" He asked shocked

"I do I really, really do. It may be a little rough around the edges but its gets the job done right?" I asked and he nodded smiling

"Right." He said then I walked over to the table and grabbed my bag and groceries and walked over to the kitchen area

"What are you doing?" Bill asked me

"Well I thought since you've been nice enough to show me your boat I'd cook you some dinner. You don't mind do you?" I asked him with a smile and he shook his head

"Not at all, knock yourself out." He said then left me to work. I was done pretty quickly, then served it up and Bill and I sat down to eat. While we ate, we talked some more. He told me a little about his time in the Marines, then why he came here, and then about buying the 'Bloody Mary'. He didn't really want to talk about his family or life before the Marines.

"So enough about me what about you? What brought you here?" Bill asked me

"Well I worked for doctors without borders for the past three years. I guess I just didn't really feel like being out in the field only for six months was making much of a difference. So I just decided to stay in the field permanently."

"I think that's pretty cool."

"Yeah you're the first." I told him

"What do you mean?"

"Well my parents were pretty pissed they wanted to me to be some sort of private practice doctor. But that's not me I like what I do. When I decided to stay my parents, family, and friends all thought I was crazy, probably still do. I wouldn't doubt if I went back to the states they would try to have me committed. Only people who got it were my co-workers for doctors without borders."

"I think what you're doing is amazing since I've been here I've never seen the clinic in better shape."

"Thank you, it took a lot of work trust me, I had to call in a few favors to get the funding."

"I bet." He said looking at me with a smile

"I've had a really nice time tonight." I said to him

"Me too I'm glad you decided I wasn't a serial killer and came." He said voicing my thoughts from earlier

"How did you?" I asked but was cut off by the look he gave me

"It's late I should go." I said getting up

"Let me walk you." He said standing up

"Oh Bill you don't have to."

"Malia don't argue with me I'm not gonna let you walk home this late by yourself."

"Okay. But let me clean up my mess first." I said grabbing our plates but Bill stopped me

"Don't worry about it I'll clean it up when I get back." He said taking my hand, I looked into his beautiful blue eyes. His eyes shifted down to my lips then back to my eyes, he pushed some of my hair out of my face then leaned in. Just as our lips were about to touch we heard someone clear their throat and we quickly pulled apart. I looked and saw an Asian man standing near the side of the boat

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked smirking at Bill

"No I was just leaving." I said stepping away from Bill who was glaring at the man

"Malia this Tran, Tran, Malia."

"Nice to meet you." I said holding out my hand which he shook

"You too." He said back

"Well I should go once again it's nice to meet you Tran."

"Hold on I told you I'm gonna walk you remember?" Bill said and I nodded he turned and said something to Tran the turned back to me

"Alright let's go." He said the walk back to my house was quiet, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was just peaceful.

"Well here we are." I said stopping in front of my house

"Nice place."

"Yeah I like it." I said smiling at him

"So." Bill said rubbing the back of neck

"So….I'll see you around I guess."

"I hope so." He said and we stood there just staring at each other. I felt like I was back in high school on my first date again. When all of a sudden Bill cupped my cheeks and pressed his lips against mine. I instantly responded, wrapping my arms around his waist as he pulled me closer. It ended too quickly for me but we needed air.

"So we **will** be seeing each again." Bill said with a smirk

"I can't wait." I said quickly pecking him on the lips then went into my house. I fell asleep that night dreaming of Bill and those amazing lips of his.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two Years Later**

After work I went home, showered, changed, and then left. I was late meeting my date at the bar we agreed to. When I got there I found him at our usual table near the back. I frowned when I caught a glimpse of his face. He had a big bruise forming on the right side of his face and his eyebrow was slightly split open. When he saw me he gave me in innocent smile.

"Now before you say anything Malia I didn't start it this time." Bill said to me

"Sure you didn't." I said rolling my eyes, I sat down next to him. To get a closer look at the damage

"I didn't really."

"Bill-"I started but he cut me off with a kiss

"I love you." He said smiling at me

"I love you too but baby you can't keep doing this. One of these days you're gonna get really hurt."

"Good thing my girlfriend is a doctor then." He smirked and I pinched his injured eyebrow

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You deserved it, and you're lucky this time you don't need stitches." I said looking at his eyebrow, then wetting a napkin to clean it. Just then Tran came over with Bill's drink, and asked me if I wanted anything I just shook my head and he headed over to the corner with two girls.

"So how was your day?" Bill asked changing the subject, I picked up his drink and placed it on his cheek

"Ice your cheek now. As for my day it was long." I said thinking of the shitty day I had

"What happened?"

"One of the foundations sponsoring the clinic, is talking about pulling out. If they do I don't know if I'll be able to keep it open. Or at least to keep it running as efficiently as it is now." I said

"They won't shut you down they can't. We'll think of something."

"We?" I asked looking at him surprised

"We. That's how we do things together it's you and me." He said smiling at me. I just pulled him in for a kiss

"Oh and Tran." He said once we pulled apart making me laugh

"And Kong." I added and he nodded

"Jin-Soon!" Tran called him by his nickname which always got a small laugh from me

"These tourists need a boat I told them not in the rainy season." Tran said sitting in the seat next to me. I looked up to see a group of people following him

"You're Jin-Soon?" One of the women asked shocked

"Local nickname, name's Johnson. Bill Johnson. It's a pronunciation thing. And you can rent my boat for 25 grand." He said to them

"Now you want me to drive it well that'll cost you fifty." He told them and I looked at him like he was crazy he could not be considering going up river now. It was way too dangerous

"50 grand are you high?" That same woman snapped

"You know what don't answer that. You know what there's no way I'm trusting this guy which the expedition."

"Listen lady. Let's cut the bullshit please. If one of the other charter companies could take you, you'd be on the river by now. You only came to me because you're desperate. Now 50 grand take it or leave it." Bill said taking a sip of his drink. They all looked at each other then nodded

"Okay deal. But you only get half in morning and the other half when you get us back here." A man spoke up and Bill nodded

"We need you ready first thing tomorrow morning." He said then he and Bill shook on and they left. Once they were gone I turned to Bill and glared at him

"What?" He asked me I just grabbed my stuff and left. I was barely out of the door when Bill caught me

"Malia what wrong? What did I do?" I just pushed him out of my away and started walking home, I knew he was following me. When I got there I slammed the door in his face and went to my room, as I was changing into my PJs Bill walked in the room. Damn it I forgot about the key I gave him.

"Lia please talk to me." He begged I grabbed a pillow off the bed and threw it at his head

"How could you? How could you agree to something like that without even talking to me?"

"Lia I didn't mean to upset you but this is a good job. We're getting fifty grand Lia think about what we could do with that money."

"I don't care about the money Bill. What the hell is money gonna do for me if something happens to you?"

"Nothing is going to happen to me."

"You don't know that." I snapped Bill cupped my face and making me look at him

"Malia nothing is going to happen to me. I've been up and down this river a thousand times. I know it like that back of my hand."

"Not in the rainy season."

"Yes I have! And I'm gonna do this, when I get this money I can help you with the clinic, we can fix up the 'Bloody Mary', and we can put the rest away for our future together."

"I don't like this Bill."

"Come with me then." He said

"What?"

"Come with me. This way you can see that I'm alright. You won't have to worry, and besides Tran and I could use an extra hand it is the rainy season after all." He smirked and I hit him on the arm

"But what about the clinic? I can't just leave."

"Call them tell them you're taking a vacation. I'm sure they can manage without you for a week, week and a half tops. You can't even bring your work stuff with you if you want. Please?" He said as he started kissing my neck

"How did this conversation go from me being mad at you, to you seducing me?" I said letting out a small moan as his found my spot

"I can't help the fact that you find me irresistible." He said the pressed his lips against mine he thrust his tongue inside my mouth and was met by my own. He kept running his hands down my body. He moved them to my lower back and brought me closer. He cupped my ass and pulled me up into his arms. I quickly wrapped my legs around him and began running my hands through his hair. Bill laid me on the bed as we kept kissing and touching everywhere.

"Bill." I moaned as he ran his tongue down my neck making me arch my back exposing my breasts to him.

"I want you Lia." He said pulling off my shirt and squeezed my nipples.

"I want you so much. I need to be inside you."

I looked into his eyes and saw his lust and desire. I wanted this just as much he did.

"Take me." I said pulling my lips to her once again.

Bill didn't need another command from me began to rip my clothes off. He left me in my underwear only. I blushed as he stared at my body. I soon became impatient and sat up taking his clothes off. I ran my hands down his sculpted chest and rubbed his crotch over his pants. He let out a groan as I finally unbuttoned his pants and dropped his boxers to the ground without any more hesitation. Bill ripped my panties off not feeling like then wrapped my legs around him.

"Look at me." Bill told me as I felt his erection close to my entrance. I quickly opened my eyes as he entered me slowly. My eyes started to close again.

"Don't close them." He growled I looked at him as he began thrusting in and out. I groaned as he began to move faster

"God, you are so tight." Bill said in my ear I was so close Bill moved his hand between our bodies and began rubbing my clit. 

"Bill!" I screamed as I started to come I arched my back and grabbed his shoulders digging my nails in.

"Malia!" He proclaimed as he came.

We lay on the bed, sweaty and satisfied. He wrapped his arms around me and I loved being in his arms nothing ever felt better.

"I love you." I said laying my head on his chest

"I love you too Lia."

"I'm gonna come with you." I said looking up as him as a smiled stretched across his face, he kissed me then laid his forehead on mine

"Marry me." He said and I felt my breath catch in my throat

"What?" I asked making sure I heard him correctly

"Marry me. I don't have a ring or anything like that yet, but I know I love you and these past two years with you have been amazing. I want it to be like this forever."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes. Yes Bill I will marry you." I said kissing him

"I love you so much." I said against his lips

"I love you too, and I promise I'll get you a ring as soon as possible."

"I don't need a ring. I don't. I just need you."

"I'm gonna get you one I want you to have the best Lia, you deserve that and more."

"I have you and that doesn't get any better." 


	3. Chapter 3

Bill and I were up and on the 'Bloody Mary' around 6am, getting ready for our guests. They arrived an hour later and I could already tell it was going to be a long two weeks. I was already two seconds away from punching that Gail chick and she had only got here literally two minutes ago.

"Seriously I've seen subway cars in better shape than this." She complained while glaring at the boat

"Yeah she may be ugly but she puts out." Bill told her carrying my bags for me. I had only packed a few clothes and my medical bag, seeing as I already had a bunch of my necessities on the boat already. I also did a little grocery shopping I didn't know what these people liked so I tried to grab a little of everything plus the stuff I knew my guys liked. Bill and Tran were loading fuel when a red pick-up truck pulled up and two more guys got out

"Damn how many of them are there?" I asked Bill shrugged. I rolled my eyes when I heard one of the guys complaining about the rain, then about the boat, and about missing a basketball game back in New York.

"I probably should've told you this before but I gave the two women our room." Bill told me and I threw the rag I had in my hand at him as he walked past

"You missed." He said with a laugh

"Asshole." I said to myself

It took us almost another hour before we were able to finally get on the river. Once we were on the river I settled down and started going over the budget for the clinic. While I was doing that Bill was showing them the route he was planning on taking

"This is where the exploratory team found the orchid, in the Selatan Basin. It took them three days to get up river." The man whose name I learned was Jack told Bill. I just rolled my eyes did these people did not understand the meaning of rainy season.

"Yeah but that was before the rainy season some of these waterways might be dangerous now." Bill started but that Sam girl cut him off

"You said you'd get us there safely." Sam said that when I cut in

"And he will but safe isn't always quick." I snapped at her

"Right now we'll work our way up on river one bend at a time. If I don't like what I see we change course. You can't chart the fastest route before you begin." Bill told them

"Already have." The complainer whose name is Cole cut in. Then began to show he mapped out the route on his computer then showed us the fastest route. I rolled my eyes and bit down the urge to push him overboard

"Alright we got less than a week to get to that Orchid. If you can't get the job done give us our money back and we'll get someone who can." Mitchell said to Bill

"I'll get you there." Bill said confidently

We were about an hour in and the rain had stopped and it was starting to warm up. Everything had started going pretty easy until we heard Gail screaming about something attacked her in the room I was gonna go see what it was but Bill stopped me and went instead.

"Oh my God." I said when Bill came out of the room with Kong on his shoulder

"It's alright buddy its okay. What the hell you'd do? You scared him." Bill said as Kong jumped from his shoulders into my arms wrapping his arms around my neck

"It's okay baby boy." I said moving to sit back in my spot at table

"I scared him?!" Gail snapped

"This is Kong. Kong lives here you're guests." I snapped at her as everyone else laughed at her

"Be nice." Bill said then went back up top with Tran

"Here you want a snack buddy?" I said grabbing a mango from the kitchen and sat back down cutting it up for him.

"He is so cute." Sam said smiling at him

"Oh don't give him complements they go straight to his head." I joked and she laughed

"How did you guys get him? Capuchins are native to this area right?" She asked

"No they aren't, he came with the boat. He's actually how I met Bill and Tran."

"Wow really?" She asked and I nodded

"That's a story for another time." I told her then went back to my work

* * *

><p>I sitting at the table reading a book when both Mitchell and Gail were both trying to talk on the phone, but no service out here surprise, surprise. So they were basically walking in circle shouting into their phones. I rolled my eyes and got up and went to the top deck with Bill. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around him from behind.<p>

"How much longer?" I whined and he laughed

"I hate to break it to you baby but it's only been a few hours." He told me and I groaned

"I'm gonna kill that Gail bitch before the week is out I know it. I don't know what's worse is the way they act, or the fact I probably used to be like them." I said and Bill laughed again

"Lia I highly doubt you were that bad, besides eventually you got a clue." He joked and I hit him on the ass

"Oh now don't start something you know you can't finish." He said and I just kissed his shoulder,

"Stop the boat!" Jack shouted, I groaned as we pulled apart to go see what was going on. When we got down there Sam and Jack were talking about some flower they saw on the shore. They wanted to go collect a sample. Bill said okay then grabbed his rifle, and Tran grabbed his machete.

"You guys be careful." I told them they nodded and Bill kissed me then they left. They were gone for about 20 minutes. When they came back Bill and Tran pulled me up top.

"What?" I asked I knew something was up by the looks on their faces

"We found a skin out there in the forest." Bill said

"What kind of skin are we talking about here?"

"Anaconda." Tran answered

"Oh God."

"There something else…..The skin we found was huge. I mean like abnormally huge. The biggest one I've ever seen." Bill told me

"Okay…so there's an abnormally large anaconda out there somewhere right now." I said and they nodded

"So what are we gonna do?" I asked

"We're gonna stick to the plan get them to the flower then back to Padrang, but no more stops and no more getting off the boat." Bill said

"Okay good. What are we gonna tell them?" I asked nodded towards the stairs

"Nothing we keep this between us, we'll just tell them some places are starting to look flooded and we can't afford to waste time." Bill said

"Yeah they'll buy it you see how crazy they are for a flower." I said

"And for fifty grand I can keep quiet." Tran said, we talked about it some more then I headed down to start dinner

* * *

><p>While I was cooking Ben, Sam and Gail came and help well Sam was helping. The most work Gail was doing was raising a beer bottle to her lips. Ben was actually showing me this recipe he learned to make in Sri Lanka. Ben had stepped out for a few minutes leaving us girls alone<p>

"So Sam you were one of Jacks students?" Gail asked her

"Yeah he was teaching a seminar on botanical pharmacology. Soon as I finished my dissertation he hired me." Sam said with a smile

"Well that's one way to get a leg up." Gail said making me freeze I stopped and counted to ten in my head and took a couple of deep breaths

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked her

"I had a professor who wanted to hire me right out of college but of course he wanted me to be his secretary."

"Look if I've done something to offend you-"Sam started but Gail cut her off

"No, no not at all dear. Actually I admire you, took me ten years to get where I am. Clearly your generation has it all figured out?" She said giving Sam a fake smile the grabbing her beer and leaving

"And its bitches like her are the reason why I left the states. Don't worry about her because I detected a lot of jealousy in that entire conversation." I said then Ben came back into the kitchen. Once the food was done we set the table and served it up.

"Man this is good man. Where did you learn how to cook like this?" Cole asked Ben

"Just a little recipe I picked up in Sri Lanka." He told him

"What were you doing there?" I asked him

"Doctors without borders it's my day job." Ben said

"You guys expect to need a doctor for some reason." Bill asked from his seat on the side of the boat

"Can't get the expedition bonded without one." Gail answered

"Why didn't you guys just use mine?" Bill said winking at me I rolled my eyes

"You're a doctor?" Gail asked me with surprise written all over her face

"Yeah, I own and operate the clinic back in Padrang." I told them and they looked impressed

"Is that what brought you here?" Sam asked and I shook my head

"No I also worked with doctors without borders, it's just after a while I still felt like I wasn't doing enough, so I stayed."

"What do you specialize in?" Ben asked me

"Trauma surgery, but over time I've learned the basics of Pediatrics, I'm a midwife, and lately I've been looking more into eastern medicine." I told them

"That really cool I would like to trade some tricks if you're okay with that?" Ben asked and I nodded

"Yeah sure just say the word." I said just then Bill shouted

"Hey!" We turned and saw Kong trying to grab a banana off the table

"You've had your dinner. Get out of here." Bill told him and he squeaked at him then went away, then came back two seconds later when he thought Bill wasn't looking

"Hey what'd I say?" Bill said then Kong ran off upstairs

"Oh Bill he can have a banana, if he wants one." I said

"No he can't he already ate."

"So?" I said

"You're the reason he acts that way." Bill said to me

"He doesn't act any kind of way. He's a very good monkey for your information."

"You spoil him rotten."

"One banana is not spoiling him." I argued back

"You think I don't know how much you let him get away with behind my back."

"I don't let him get away with anything. He just loves me more because I'm nicer."

"And you give him whatever he wants."

"Well if you know I give him whatever he wants why not just let him have the banana now? Since you know I gonna give it to him later?" I said and Bill just rolled his eyes

"Whatever you're gonna make him fat." Bill said and I hit him on the arm. Just then we heard some laughter then realized we had an audience. Everyone was looking at us with small smiles trying to hold back their laughs

"So how long have you two been together?" Gail asked

"Two years." Bill answered

"Two very, very, long years." I said

"How did you two meet?" Sam asked

"Kong." We said at the same time, then we launched into the story of how we met. Just as we finished we heard an animal screech.

"What the hell was that?" Cole asked

"Something's getting eaten." Bill told them bluntly

"By what?" Gail asked disgusted

"It's the jungle everything gets eaten out here." I said


	4. Chapter 4

The next day everyone was up doing whatever it is that they do. I was going over a few patient files, Bill was around here somewhere, and Tran was steering.

"Hey babe." Bill called from the bedroom

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Kong today?" He asked me and I set my stuff down

"Actually come to think of it no. You can't find him?" I asked and he shook his head. Then he asked everyone else have they seen him and got the same response.

"Where are you?" I heard Bill say. I put my hand on his arm

"I'm sure he's fine Bill he could've gotten far, and he very smart. He knows to come home." I told him but he just nodded then headed up top to look for him. I was trying to be okay but seeing Bill this worried has me a bit worried. What if something happened to him?

Just then Gail came from the back once again shouting on her phone. She kept repeating 'can you hear me now' obviously they can't

"Can you hear me now!?" She shouted again

"We can!" I snapped at her I turned to put my work away there was no way I could get anything done with her around just then I heard a splash and turned to see she had fallen off the boat.

"Tran stop the boat." I called up no worry in my voice what so ever. I really wanted to laugh because this was nothing but karma come right back around on her. Just then Bill came down with the stick, we shared a small smirk then he went to help Gail. Everyone else was laughing and mocking Gail. Bill and I climbed down on the platform, Bill stuck out the stick for her to grab on to. She was swimming very slowly because she wouldn't let go of the phone. Just as she was about to grab the stick a giant crocodile jumped out of the water and almost took her arm off. Before we had time to react Bill jumped in after her. I grabbed the stick holding it out for Gail's dumbass to reach it. Just then Bill lifted her up onto the platform then the croc came straight at him

"Bill look out!" I screamed he turned and shoved the plastic crate into its mouth. Bill took that time to climb on its back. He began stabbing the croc repeatedly, just as Tran came running back with the rifle but couldn't get a clear shot as the croc took Bill under the water and began doing its death roll. They came back up and I saw Bill stabbing it a few more times then they went back under. What felt like hours was really only seconds before I saw Bill reappear, and the croc was floating to the surface dead. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.

"Oh shit you won." Cole said as Bill swam over to the boat

"You're okay?" He asked Gail out of breath

"I lost my phone." Was all she said I could've kicked her in the face if I wasn't so worried about Bill. I grabbed his hand and Ben grabbed the other and we pulled him from the water. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. He wrapped his arms around me too and held me just as tight

"I'm getting you all wet." He said

"I don't care." I said then we pulled away and I smacked him in the face as hard as I could

"Oh!" Everyone said but I heard a giggle from Tran

"William Johnson I swear to God if you ever do anything like that again to me I will kill you myself." I snapped and he just laughed. We got up I climbed back on the boat first. Then Bill just before he came over I saw Sam staring at him. It was a familiar look a look I knew well because it was the way I use to look at Bill around the time we started dating.

"That was either the bravest or the stupidest thing I've ever seen." She said still staring

"It's a fine line." He said then climbed aboard

It was then I felt a small amount of anger in the pit of my stomach. Then Bill wrapped his arm around me and it went away as quickly as it came. We walked upstairs and I pulled him in for a deep kiss, when we pulled apart I felt the tears coming

"Oh no, no, no Lia don't cry I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"I love you so much." I said burying my face in his chest

"I love you too baby you know that I'm sorry."

"You asked me to marry you and in order for you to do that I need you alive." I said to him and he just kissed my forehead and held me

"Promise me you won't go playing that hero anymore."

"You know I can't promise that." He said

"I know but you need to remember I need you too. Not as a hero I need the man I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life." I said I kissed him again. Just the Tran came up and we pulled apart

"Sorry, I just want to get us out of here as quickly as possible." Tran said

"I agree." I said as Tran started up the boat

* * *

><p>We had stopped about an hour later and Ben was stitching up Gail I knew I shouldn't because I would have made sure she had a permanent scar when I was done.<p>

"Almost eaten to find a flower, it hardly seems worth it." Bill said to them I as snuggled closer into his arms when I noticed Sam once again staring at him

"It's worth it I mean thing about it. A pill you take every day for the rest of your life. Now even if we charge a dollar a pop, we're billionaires." Mitchell said they all agreed with him

"Now a hundred dollars a bottle I'll dive into the river and fight that croc myself." He joked everyone laughed but me, Bill, and Tran. I didn't like the way he was talking. He was just all about the money

"So how many orchids does it take to save the world?" Tran asked

"We figure about fifty orchids will hold about an ounce of chemicals." Sam answered

"You could a football field full of those orchids it still doesn't mean you could get them through human trials." Gail argued and for once I agreed with her

"She doesn't even believe in you." Tran said with fake disappointment

"Comes with a territory. In research you've got to go out on a limb and there's always someone waiting to chop it off" Jack said to him. When something jumped down from the ceiling making everyone jump. I calmed down when I noticed it was Kong. He was really upset and wouldn't stop screeching.

"Where the hell have you been? Huh?" Bill asked putting him on his shoulder

"Damn that thing!" Gail snapped

"Where have you been boy?" Bill asked Kong who just kept on screeching

"Calm down baby calm down." I said walking over and rubbing his back

"Poor guy he looks like he's seen a ghost." Sam said as Bill and I kept trying to calm him down.

* * *

><p>That evening the rain started coming down, and hard too. I walked up to the top deck where Tran and Malia were.<p>

"How's it looking?" I asked Tran who just shook his head

"Shit! Alright I'll talk with Jack." I said to Tran who agreed, then I looked over to Malia who was still taking care of Kong. Something has him really spooked I've never seen him like this before. Ever since he came back, he won't let me or Malia put him down.

"Oh come on baby." Malia said to him I walked over to them and kneeled down next to the bench

"How's he doing?" I asked her

"He stopped shaking. He won't eat Bill, and I'm really worried." She said turning back to him

"Come on Kong, it's a mango you love mangos come on just eat a little for me huh?" She said trying to give it to him but he kept pushing it away

"Kong eat just a bite." I told him but he just looked away

"What do you think is out there that scared him so bad?" Malia asked me but honestly I don't know

"I don't know Lia, just keep trying. I'm gonna to talk to Jack about this storm." I said then kissed her, and headed down below. I found him and Sam in the back he was clearly trying to get her to sleep with him but she kept turning him down

"Am I interrupting something?" I asked but I didn't really care if I was

"No, no I-I was just about to head to bed." Jack half stuttered, half slurred

"Well before you do that we need to talk." I told him and he came out and followed me upstairs.

"Hello Malia."

"Hi." She smile politely at him

"How Kong doing?" He asked her

"I didn't bring you up here to talk about my monkey." I snapped not liking the way he was eyeing my girl.

"Bill." Malia said giving me her 'Be nice' look I just rolled my eyes and turned to the windshield

I turned on the lights so I could show him what I was talking about

"Now we have a problem. See the water level?" I asked him

"Uh-huh."

"In high water the Mendranang gets rough. What we could do is turn around and try to find another course. But that would take at least two days." I told him

"We don't have the time." He said quickly shooting down the idea

"If the river becomes impassible, it'll take a lot longer." I told him

"And if we turn back, then we're definitely screwed. We're gonna have to risk it." He said and I looked at him like he was crazy

"What if I don't want to risk it?" I said then quickly glanced back at Malia I would never forgive myself if something happened to her

"Do you have any idea what this flower means? We're talking about the biggest medical discovery in history. You get it don't you Malia?" He asked turning to face her

"Um please leave me out of this." She said

"You know what that sure does sound amazing Jack, but I was never any good at history. You want me to risk the Mendranang it'll cost you an extra 50,000." I told him

"Done." He said quickly

"Done? Don't you need to ask the boss lady or something first?"

"I'll pay it myself." He said and I thought about

"All right you got yourself a deal, but if we hit trouble your people do what I say you got that?" I told him

"You're the captain." He said in a mocking tone that made me want to punch him. Then he nodded to Lia then went back downstairs. And I turned back to the river

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lia asked coming to stand next to me

"Not really I kind of feel like I just made a deal with the devil." I admitted

"Well if that's how you feel maybe you shouldn't do it. We don't need the money that bad." She said

"Yes we do, it's just….I don't know something about that guy doesn't sit right with me."


	5. Chapter 5

I was woken up the next morning by something hitting the side of the boat. I felt Bill moving beside me

"What was that?" I asked him

"I don't know let me see." He said and got up I laid back down only to have Kong jump on the bed with me.

"Hi baby boy are you feeling better?" I said and he let out a squeak which made me smile

"Good." I said then got up. I climbed down and walked over to Bill and Tran

"What going on?" I asked them

"River's flooded we can't see the banks."

"Did we miss our turnoff?" Bill asked him

"It's just up ahead." Tran said then something hit the boat again

"What the hell was that?" I asked as Bill looked down in the water to see if he could see anything. Just then the wheel locked up

"Rudder's jammed." Tran said

"What? Watch out." Bill said trying to turn the wheel but it wouldn't move

"Shit!" Bill said then jumped down the stairs

"I'm not saying I'm an expert but I've been on this boat enough times to know that this isn't a good thing right?" I asked looking at Tran who looked just as nervous as I was

"GET UP EVERYBODY UP!" We heard Bill shouting from below Tran kept trying to turn the wheel but it wouldn't move. Just then Bill climbed back up and took over again

"Son of a bitch, the current's too strong." Bill growled still trying to turn the wheel

"We've missed our turnoff." Tran said

"I know come on baby." Bill said to the boat

"Come on girl." Bill said then the red light came on signaling that the propeller stopped

"Shit." Bill said hitting the wheel just then Tran jumped down below

"EVERBODY HANG ON!" He shouted to them

"HANG ON TO WHAT!" Cole cried

I grabbed on to the closest pole and took a deep breath just as we went over the waterfall. The water hit me fast and hard. It took me a couple of seconds to reach the surface and I took in that amazing breath of fresh air

"Swim to the rocks this way." I heard Bill say I swam over to the rocks and Cole helped me out of the water, I looked back just in time to see the last of the 'Bloody Mary' sink. Once everyone was on the rocks Gail started up

"You almost got us killed!" She snapped at Bill

"You think I wanted this I just lost my damn boat!" He snapped right back at her

"You're gonna lose your damn payday if you don't get us out of this." Mitchell said to him making me roll my eyes we almost died going over a waterfall and all he can still think about is money

"You said you'd get us there safely, if you knew it was that dangerous you should've turned around!" Gail snapped again

"THAT ENOUGH!" Jack shouted at her

"There's nothing we can do about it now. It's a waste of energy." He said

"What have we got?" Jack asked Sam

"Some specimen jars, a map, a little water, no food." Sam said

"Hard drive's ruined." Ben added as Tran pulled our knives from the water

"Well pretty much all the equipment's shot. Except one of the SAT phones still works." Cole said tossing it to Jack

"Thank God we can call the police." Gail said and I let out a laugh

"Police? The nearest river patrol is back in Padrang, the only way to get to us is over that." I said pointing to the waterfall

"Are you saying we're stuck here?" Sam asked me and I shrugged

"Maybe not." Bill spoke up, he got up and grabbed the map

"Okay were here the valley's completely flooded, but I got a friend who operates a boat on the Tokut river. I can give him a call and he can meet us here, at Naga rock."

"How far is that?" Sam asked him

"I don't know a two-day hike down the river. But if we bushwhack we can at least a day off the trek." Bill told them

"Oh my God you want to go through that?" Cole complained

"It's the shortest way." I snapped sick of these people and their whining and complaining

"Lia's right we could be safely in the Tokut by nightfall." Bill said

"So we could continue with the expedition?" Jack said and I looked at him like he was crazy

"Yeah I'll get you to the flower." Bill sighed

"I don't care about that flower just get us to safety." Gail snapped again

"It's the same thing!" I snapped at her and she glared back at me

"We can either be on my buddy's boat in 10 hours or we can sit here and wait for the river patrol for days." Bill told them

"Is your friend reliable?" Sam asked him

"Absolutely." He lied. I knew exactly what friend he was talking about, and he was no way reliable. And I'm sure Bill gonna have to pay him something for this. Bill took the phone and when off to the side to call him. I walked over to him just in time to hear

"Otherwise I'll tell your wife about that little side trip to Bangkok." Bill said then hung up

"So how much does he want this time?" I asked him

"Five grand." Bill said

"I guess that's not too bad, are you sure he's gonna be there?" I asked lowering my voice so no one could hear us

"I'm sure he will he needs the money." Bill said then we turned back to the others

"All right people, we're on saddle up." Bill said as Tran handed both of us a machete. Bill had taught me just about every survival trick he knows.

"Stay together, this jungle is all green all the time and you will get lost." Bill told them as we started to move out. We were about 4 hours in it was now about midday and the heat was almost unbearable. The worst part is once again the complaining started up.

"You see Sam a crisis separates the real men from the pretenders." I could hear Ben trying to flirt with Sam

"Yeah I see that." She said I turned and saw her once again staring at Bill. I knew before this trip was over, we were gonna need to exchange some words. I kept moving I was right behind Bill when Ben came up to me.

"Hey do you mind if I give it a try?" Ben asked motioning towards the knife

"Knock yourself out." I said handing it to him, I stopped for a breather when Cole came up to me

"I tricked him….into taking my bag." He said out of breath I let out a small laugh and he kept moving

"Are you alright?" Bill asked me I didn't even noticed he had stopped

"Yeah I'm fine baby." I said taking his hand, just then Sam walked up

"Hey I'm sorry about your boat." She said looking directly at Bill it was as if I wasn't even there Bill nodded

"Yeah well…..it was a piece of shit anyway." He said then let go of my hand and kept on walking. I glared at her then followed him, I fell in step beside him

"You know you can talk to me about it. I know the 'Bloody Mary' was your baby." I said and he nodded

"I will just not here, not around them." He said nodding towards Jack and his crew

"That's okay I'm here when you're ready." I told him and the first time since the boat sunk I got a real smile out of him. Granted it was a small one but a smile no less. We walked on for about another mile before we came to a swamp directly in our path.

"Oh shit." I said to myself

"Can we go around?" The dumb-blonde asked

"Yeah we could but we'd lose another day." Bill told her then turned and took the knife from Ben and gave it back to me

"Let's go." He said and we followed. When I stepped into the waist deep water. I thanked God that I had worn pants that day.

"Now I'm a big girl but you know I hate shit like this." I said to Bill who smirked at me

"You know you don't ever have to be scared when I'm around baby."

Bill led in front I was right behind him while Tran watched the rear. As we moved through the swamp no one said anything. Kong was beside us leaping from tree to tree, just then he started screeching like he was last night.

"Hey knock it off." Bill said looking at him he stopped for a few seconds then started up again. I was worried what was making him act like that. He normally listened to Bill especially when he used that voice.

"Shit! What was that?" Cole jumped

"What was what?" Jack asked me

"Something just moved past me." He said

"Please don't say that." Gail whined

"I'm serious something just moved past me. Shit! There it is again! Shit! There something in here!" He said trying to see what it was

"Cole there probably are a million things in here." I told him

"Just keep moving." Bill told him, we kept moving then I heard Gail's annoying voice whining about something. Then she started calling for Ben

"Ben? Ben?" She called then we turned around

"Where'd he go?" I asked as we kept calling for him

"HELP ME!" He screamed as he was being thrashed across the water by something, then was pulled under again. When he came back up he was covered in cuts and was bleeding all over the place. I moved to help him but Bill pulled me back just as a giant anaconda shot out from the water grabbing him by the face and was gone just as quickly as it came. Everyone started screaming

"RUN!" Bill shouted and pushed me towards the shore.


	6. Chapter 6

I had gotten everyone safely to shore, but everyone was still very shaken up. Sam and Gail were crying, Cole was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and Lia hadn't said a word.

"What the hell was that thing?!" Cole snapped

"Anaconda." I told them

"Oh great!" He said

"There's snakes out here that big?" Gail asked

"Yes but-"I started but Cole cut me off

"But what? It swallowed him whole!"

"Calm down and listen for a second." I told him

"No, you calm down! You listen! BEN WAS JUST EATEN BY A FUCKING SNAKE OKAY? A FUCKING SNAKE! Oh God, oh God I mean. Did you see that thing!?"

"Cole!" Jack called to him trying to calm him down but he was still on a rampage

"Mitchell listen to me men. I watch the Discovery Channel. I'm telling you we got no chance! I'm telling we're like mice in an aquarium you understand. We're gonna die girl. WE GONNA DIE!" He screamed in front of Sam in until Jack grabbed him

"Cole! Calm down okay?" Jack said to him and he nodded

"Jack I'm okay, I'm okay. I'm gonna sit right here I'm sorry, sorry." He said sitting down but he was still shaking and had tears in his eyes

"Alright listen anacondas are territorial, a snake that size will hunt a large area. There won't be another one for miles. We gotta get to the boat, it's not that far. So if we keep moving and stick together we should be fine." I told them

"We should be!?" Cole snapped

"How big do they get?" Gordon asked

"That was the biggest one I've ever seen by far, a freak of nature. The odds of running into another one that size are astronomical."

"Yeah but how do we know that the one that got Ben won't come after us?" Mitchell asked then Lia spoke up for the first time

"It takes them weeks to digest, a meal like that he'll be sleeping it off for a while." She spoke

"Let's just get to that boat and get home." Gail said that had to be the smartest thing I've heard her say

"What about the orchid?" Jack asked and we all looked at him like he was crazy

"You've gotta be kidding me." Malia said to him

"It won't be in bloom for another seven years." He said

"I don't care Ben is dead. We have lost someone." Malia snapped at him

"She's right this expedition is over Jack!" Gail said

"Now hold on a second Gail, there's a lot of money at stake here." Mitchell said I just scoffed and turned away from them

"I don't care as Wexell-Hall's representative I am calling the expedition off." Gail said to them

"You don't have the authority." Jack argued

"Check your contract!"

"In case you haven't noticed we're in the middle of the jungle. As of right now your authority is what we say it is." Jack said

"Look Ben was my friend and I got him into this and nobody feels worse about this than I do." Jack said with fake sympathy I rolled my eyes

"But if we turn back now Ben's death would be for nothing."

"Look Jack I'm with her I gotta get the hell out of here man." Cole said

"Let's just get back to the boat, we can regroup and make our decision then." Sam said

"Fine." Gail said then started walking, and everyone else followed until it was just me, Tran, Malia, Jack and Sam

"Jack maybe Gail's right." Sam said to him

"She's just scared. Once we get back to the boat she'll be okay" Jack said that when I stood and went over to him

"Once we get back to the boat this expedition **is** over. The only place I'm taking these people is to safety." I told him

"Hey, hey, hey we had a deal." He said

"Keep your money doc! Someone is dead we're officially in over our heads, and I'm not putting my family in danger for you to find a flower." I snapped at him

"You just said we wouldn't run into another one of those things."

"And we probably won't but I can't guarantee it. So I'll get you to the boat and after that we're done." I told him them we left to catch up with the others.

* * *

><p>Once we got moving again thing were moving pretty fast. Cole was ranting about some special he saw on TV about anacondas, I let him go on for about five minutes before I was at my wits end<p>

"Will you shut the hell up!?" I said and he shut up for about two minutes before he started up again

"Calm down that's probably his way of coping." Bill said to me

"He won't have to worry about coping in a minute because I'm gonna kill him." I said and Bill shook his head

"I'm so sorry about all of this Lia."

"Bill this is not your fault don't let them make you feel that way." I told him

"Not about them, about you. I'm the reason you're out here it's my fault you're in danger."

"No, no, no we're not doing that now. We need to stay focused and get ourselves to safety. Just know I don't blame you Bill I chose to come. We're gonna be fine." I said then Bill stopped and pulled me into a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around him

"I love you." He said then kissed me

"I love you too even though you stink." I said and pushed him off. He let out a small laugh

"You love my manly smell." He said

"Sure keep telling yourself that." I said as we kept walking. When Sam walked up on the side of us

"I'm sorry about Ben." Bill told her, I knew he felt really bad about all of this

"I never should've stayed on the Mendranang." He admitted

"What do you mean?" She asked him confused

"We figured he wouldn't tell the others but we thought you knew." I said to her

"Knew what?" She asked looking at me and Bill

"Byron offered me an extra 50 grand to stay on the river. I told him it wasn't safe but he wanted to risk it." Bill told her. She turned to say something to Jack but Bill stopped her

"Don't blame him." He said

"I do." I spoke up and Bill gave me a look

"It was my call, I took the money. I thought I could get us through. You want to blame anyone? Blame me."

"Bill." I said but he just kept looking ahead. Then once again we heard Cole screaming about something. We turned around and rushed back

"Cole calm down!" I shouted at him and he did just a little Bill had to restrain him so I could see what was on him.

"It's just a leech." I told him as Bill handed me his lighter

"Oh hell no you ain't burning me!" He said trying to run but Bill held him still. I tried not to laugh at Tran's face or the fact that the rest of them started checking themselves

"You burn me I'll kill you." Cole began chanting as I took the lighter and lightly ran it over the leech until it let go and quickly pulled it off

"OW!" He shouted

"Are you okay now?" Bill asked letting him go

"Yeah I'm fine. Wait Malia what are you doing? Why are you going under my shirt?" He asked as I lifted the back of his shirt to revel that his back was covered with leeches Bill looked and let out a whistle

"Anybody got a blow torch?" He said

We stopped and Cole sat on a rock and sat behind him and got to work is his leeches.

"It's really not that bad you know." I said to him

"Not that bad? I have bugs on my back sucking my blood. How is that not bad?"

"Well leeches are now more commonly used in eastern medicine to suck out poison, or an infection." I told him

"Can we please stop talking?" He asked and I just nodded. We had been here for almost 20 minutes. I was almost done. When I heard Tran shout

"Stop!" He said to Mitchell who was about to put his boot back on.

"Careful." Tran told him and turned the boot over and knock on the bottom until a spider fell out. They all jumped

"Oh shit man." Cole said

"It that thing bit you you'd be _lumpuh. _Paralyzed like stone for two days." Tran told him, then raised the boot the kill it when Jack grabbed a specimen jar and caught it.

"What do you call this fella?" Jack asked

"_Laba laba batu._" Tran told him

"Laba what?" Cole asked confused

"Stone spider." I told them

"I may have just discovered a valuable new anesthetic agent for Wexell-Hall." Jack said and I rolled my eyes

"No forget Wexell we can get this at the highest bidder." Mitchell said

"Is there anything that you people ever think about besides money?" I asked them but got no answer.

"There." I said to Cole as I pulled off the last leech

"Alright show and tell is over. We gotta get to that boat, so put boot back on and come on." Bill said going back into captain mode which I found rather sexy but it wasn't the time or the place.


	7. Chapter 7

We were cutting through the bush when we heard an explosion. We looked to the left and saw smoke coming up. We moved in that direction quickly in hopes of maybe finding someone who could help us. When we got there it was a boat that had crashed into the rocks as I got closer I could see it was Livingston's boat

"NO, NO, NO COME ON MAN!" Cole screamed

"What the hell happened?" Mitchell asked

"LIVINGSTON!" Tran called out but got no answer

"Here we go he got drunk and fell off the bloody boat!" Jack snapped

"YOU'RE FRIEND! YOU'RE FRIEND! NOW WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO NOW!" Cole screamed at Bill

"Search the wreckage, and hope to god there's a phone." Bill instructed

In the wreckage we found a few flashlights, a container of gas, a map. Cole tried to get a signal on the radio but got no response. I found a first aid kit, a thing of water, and we found a flair gun.

"No phone?" Bill asked when we were done

"No." Everyone answered

"Couldn't get a signal on the radio." Cole told him. That's went I noticed Tran sitting on the river bank. Bill and I went over and the rest followed

"What's going on?" Cole asked then made a face at spoiled fish left in the sun

"Where'd did these come from?" I asked Tran

"Lopaks." He answered

"Who?" Cole asked

"Local tribe. Descended from headhunters."

"What?" Cole asked again

"Been in this region for thousands of years." Tran continued

"Headhunters?" Cole said

"There's still some villages around here."

"Yeah and this must be one of their fishing spots." Bill finished

"Hold on excuse me. Did you say headhunters?" Cole asked again Tran smiled at him

"There haven't been practicing headhunters in Borneo for a century." Tran told him

"Just because they ain't practicing don't mean they don't remember how." Cole said once again freaking out. This guy needed a valium

"They must be along this branch of the river. If we can find their village maybe they can lend us a boat." Tran said then started to lead us in the right direction

"Wait a minute we're just gonna walk towards the headhunters not away?" Cole asked this time I just ignored him and walked away

"Yeah." I heard Bill say.

We started moving again with Tran leading us to find the Village. When Bill cut through a bush Livingston's body fell from the tree. He was hanging upside down and was covered in something. Of course they screamed

"Is that..." Sam started

"Livingston." Bill cut her off

"Oh my God, what the hell happened to him?" Cole asked

"Anaconda." I answered as I started to feel my stomach turn. Bill cut Livingston down, covered his body the best he could and we walked a little ways down so we wouldn't have to look at the body

"If he was eaten by the snake why is his body...?" Sam started with that crying bullshit again

"LISTEN! LISTEN!" Bill shouted finally losing his temper with them

"These things are at their weakest when they digest. But if threatened, they will spit up their food and attack again." Bill told them

"So you're saying there a snake out here with an empty stomach?" Cole asked

"Yeah." I answered

"The same one that got Ben?" Sam cried

"No, no, there's no way that snake could've gotten to Livingston. There had to be another one."

"Another one? You said their wouldn't be another one for miles!" Gail snapped

"THERE WOULDN'T! Unless…."Bill and I made eye contact and I knew what he meant

"Oh my God." I said burying my face in my hands

"Oh God what!" Cole snapped

"It's mating season." I said looking up

"Mating season?" Mitchell asked

"Yeah. The males are territorial but when they smell a female in heat, they come running….from everywhere." I said

"Females find a nice, wet, muddy pit and they all go after her a once. Forming a giant mating ball." Tran said

"You tell us there's some snake orgy, out in the jungle!?" Cole snapped

"Yeah something like that." I told him

"Look we're losing light we got to get to that village. So please pay attention. Do not stray from the group. Let's go." Bill said and we started our hike again. About an hour later we found the village. Tran led us past some statues

"Sacred burial ground stay quiet." Tran told us. When we got to the main part of the village there was a giant anaconda laying dead and gutted with two human leg stick out of its stomach

"I thought you said that anaconda was the biggest you'd ever seen." Sam said to Bill

"It was." He told her

"Well this one's…"

"Bigger." He said as we stared at the giant snake

"The males must've come through here looking for the female." Tran said and nodded in agreement. Moved away from the snake and the smell. We waited for Tran who was looking around.

"They took their boats." He said coming back

"Good them bad for us." I said

"Which one's the Mendranang?" Jack asked. This guy just didn't know when to quit

"On the right. The Tokut keeps going to the left, fastest way to Kotabaru." Tran told him

"How long?" Gail asked

"You'll be soaking in a hot tub at the Four Seasons in two days." Bill answered

"Bill we don't even have a boat." I said to him

"We're gonna build one." He said

* * *

><p>As it started to get dark we lit plenty of torches to keep the area well lit. I was picking up a few sticks when I heard Cole<p>

"Man you do that in my neighborhood and that's your ass." He said to Bill and Mitchell who had just pulled down a hut for the wood. We worked well into the night, I was surprised that everyone was doing their part. Also the complaining was gone! It was a miracle. Even Kong was helping. Everything was going good until Jack began going on about that damn orchid again. Once again they all got into an argument about it but this time they turned on Jack. I just stayed back helping Bill tie these boards together.

"Bill I think it's official that man is crazy." I said to Bill he just nodded

"It's not our business Lia. I'm just making sure he doesn't try to hurt anyone. I've seen guys like that in the war." He said looking down

Bill and I went back to work still half listening to the conversation at hand. Bill froze when Sam told them about the deal that Jack made with him. We all stopped when we saw him step in Sam's face. He said something to her then started shouting.

"I DON'T NEED TO CONSULT YOU!" He screamed in her face then turned to walk away

"We're in the middle of the jungle Jack. At this point your authority is what we say it is." Sam said using his own words against him

"Looks like you got a mutiny on your hands." Gail said to him as he stormed off

* * *

><p>We had just attached the platform piece to the raft. When I decided to take a break, when to find Bill who was by the well, shirtless, and once again Sam was there. This time I was pissed I knew Bill would never cheat me, but I could clearly see that she was flirting. I decided to handle this now I walked over<p>

"Hey." I said putting on a fake smile

"Hey babe." Bill said giving me a peck on the lips. Sam didn't say anything she just looked down

"Can I talk to you for a minute Sam?" I asked her and she nodded

"Over there. Alone." I said and she got up and followed me

"What's up?" She asked me

"I see the way you look at him." I said to her

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Bill. Look I get it he's a good looking guy. But understand something you will not continue disrespect me, when I have been nothing but nice and welcoming to you."

"Look Malia I-"

"Shut up! I'm talking now. Whatever little hero worship you got going on for him stops now. No more of the staring, batting your eyes, and flirting with him when I'm clearly only ten feet away. This is just a money trip for you people. But this here is our lives that you're messing with. Now I think I made my point pretty clear don't you agree?" I said to her and she nodded

"Good because I don't want to have this conversation with you again." I said then walked back over to Bill was still by the well

"Everything okay?" He asked me

"Everything is fine." I told him just as he cut himself trying to shave

"Ow damn it!"

"Oh babe don't use that. When was the last time you cleaned it? Or had it sharpened?" I said and got no response

"See?" I said

"Hold on I'm thinking." He said making me laugh

"If you have to think about it that long then it needs to be done." I told him taking the knife from him. He sat down on the side of the well, and held his arms open for me. I stepped in between his legs and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"What did you and Sam talk about?" He asked

"She had a crush on you and I was making sure that it stayed in her head." I said as Bill let out a small laugh

"She does?"

"Yeah she does."

"Well I didn't notice because there's only one women I got eyes for." He said then I kissed him

"Mmm Marry me." I said against his lips

"I thought I already asked you that?" He joked

"No, you dick. I mean once we get to safety I want to marry you. I want to be your wife." I said looking into his eyes

"Are you sure? I don't even have your ring yet."

"I told you I don't need a ring. I don't need a white dress. I just need you. It'll just be us. We almost lost each other more than once in less than 24 hours. Let's not waste anymore time" I said and he pulled me in for a deep kiss

"Let's do it." He said once we pulled apart then pressed our foreheads together

"I love you."

"I love you too Lia."


	8. Chapter 8

After my talk with Sam she seemed to be keeping her distance. Everyone took a small break, now we were going to test out the raft. Just to make sure it can float properly and that it'll hold everyone's weight.

"On Three." Bill instructed Cole and Tran

"One, two, three." He said then they pushed the raft into the water

"It works." I said with smile

"All right." Sam said. Then we grabbed the ropes and pulled it back to shore. Once we did that we started loading it up when Jack came back over

"Where's Mitchell?" Gail asked him

"Resting his feet." He answered

"Should I go get him?" She asked

"No, no. let him rest until we get everything loaded."

"Okay."

"Those blisters are pretty nasty." He said

We just kept loading up. We had just finished up Sam came running out of the hut

"What did you do to him Jack?!" She snapped

"What wrong?" I asked her

"Something's wrong with Mitchell."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked playing clueless

"You were in there alone with him. What did you do?" Sam asked him again

"He was resting his feet I didn't do anything." Jack said just then Kong started screeching. We looked and could see Mitchell feet hanging

"Shit!" Bill said as we all ran into the hut. By the time we got there Mitchell was swallowed whole by an anaconda. Just then Gail started screaming trying to run at it but Tran and I stopped her, but she just kept screaming

"GET HER OUT! GET OUT GO!" Bill shouted to us

"NO! NO! NO!" Gail kept screaming. I led her outside when her screams began to mix with tears. I looked back to see Bill burning the hut down. We ran back to the shore to see that Jack had taken the raft.

"THE RAFT!" Tran shouted. At this point I felt like crying was there no end to this nightmare

"NO YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Cole screamed at him

"We can build another one." Sam said out of breath

"WITH WHAT SAM?! WITH WHAT?!" Cole shouted at her motioning to all of the leftover wood that was burning

"We got to get to the raft it's our only way out of here." Bill said trying to calm everyone down

"FYI BILL! THE RAFT IS GONE!" Cole shouted

"We can get it back." I said and they all looked at me

"How?! Huh? What are we gonna swim after it now!?" Cole said still snapping at everyone

"Look." I said kneeling down

"The village is here." I said marking the spot it the dirt

"Jack is following the Mendranang." I showed them

"If we cut across the jungle we can catch him on the other side." I said looking up at everyone Bill looked proud and Tran nodded along

"Right." He said

"Catch him where?" Cole asked finally calming down

"He's going to that orchid." Sam cut in and I nodded

"We find that flower. We find that raft." I said. We all agreed then got moving

* * *

><p>We were moving quickly through the jungle, Bill once again leading.<p>

"Wait, wait stop listen." He said quietly. We listened then we heard a slithering noise

"Shit! Come on." Bill said and we started to run. We stopped when we heard the noise again trying to figure out what direction is was coming from

"It's in front of us." Sam said

"Son of a bitch it's trying to separate us." I said

"It's toying with us." Bill added

"Oh shit." Cole said as the sounds got closer. We ran a little bit farther

"Oh Christ it's everywhere." Cole said shining his flashlight all over the place.

"Will you turn that goddamn thing off?" Gail snapped at him

"It doesn't matter they can sense our body heat." Tran told her

"He's right. Let's just get the hell out of here." Bill said and we started running again just praying we weren't headed in the same direction as the snake. We were on this hill when suddenly the ground collapsed underneath our feet. We went sliding down the hill we slid all the way down until we were in these caves filled with about a foot of water.

"Which way?" Sam asked we began looking around when we heard the slithering again this time it was much closer

"ANYWAY!" Bill shouted running in a random direction. We followed with Cole bring up the rear shouting for us to wait for him. The farther in we moved the darker it got it was very hard to see, and with only two flashlights wasn't much. As we moved I felt something in my hand I almost screamed when I realized it was Bill

"If there's a way in, there's a way out." He said then we keep on moving

"GUYS!?" We heard Cole scream. We looked back and saw he wasn't with us. Cole screamed asking which way. We shouted back telling him which way. He after a few minutes he didn't show. Bill wanted to go back but Tran spoke up

"I'll go."

"Are you sure?" Bill asked and he nodded

"You be careful okay?" I said then gave him a quick hug. Then he turned back to find Cole

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Sam asked him

"Tran can take care for himself." Bill said but I could hear the worry in his voice.

"Come on let's keep moving." Bill said.

We kept moving until we came to this tunnel thing Bill stopped.

"What?" I asked him

"I'm gonna double back and see if I can find Tran and Cole."

"Bill-" I started but he cut me off

"You're not coming. You're gonna stay here with them, until I come back alright?" He said and I rolled my eyes

"Yes sir!" I snapped sarcastically. He kissed me then left. While we were waited Sam crawled up the tunnel a bit

"I think I can see light!" She said excitedly

"Is it a way out?" Gail asked her

"I don't know." She said sounding like she was gonna cry. I just paced back and forth not that there was much space. Just then Bill came back

"I think I found a way out." Sam said Bill flashed the light up there then handed it to Sam

"Take this. Go. Now" Bill told her. Then she and Gail went and didn't look back

"Where are they?" I asked him

"Go." He said putting his head down

"Oh God." I said

"Go." He repeated then I started crawling up the tunnel after them. We were about halfway through when we heard Cole I let out a breath of relief that he was alive but that means that Tran is gone. I pulled myself together for the time being. Just as Cole started crawling up the tunnel. We heard the slithering noise again I looked back this time to see it right behind us

"MOVE! IT"S COMING UP MY ASS!" Cole screamed we started moving as fast as we could. Cole just kept screaming

"HELP ME! WHAT DID I DO!?"

We finally reached the exit and fell out on the ground

"Where's Cole?" Gail asked

"Cole come on!" Bill said. When he reached the exit, he got stuck. We grabbed his arm and managed to pull him out. Then the anaconda popped out literally two seconds later, but it was stuck. It was like staring evil in the face I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life. Gail and Cole were screaming again. I was just in shock, when the next thing I know Sam picked up the machete and chopped the snake's head off

"Holy shit." I said as Bill and I looked at each other. I may not like Sam but I have a whole new respect for her.

"That's what I'm talking about Sam!" Cole shouted jumping to his feet. Bill and I were still laying on the ground and he pulled me so my back was to his chest

"You okay?" He asked me and I nodded

"I just can't wait to get home." I said to him. He kissed my forehead then we turned back to Cole rant about how awesome Sam is

"How you like her now bitch?! She sliced you, diced you, cut you up! It was like Sam with the samurai action!" He shouted, when another anaconda jumped out grabbed Cole by his backpack and dragging him off.


	9. Chapter 9

We froze for a second after what just happened when Bill jumped into action

"Hell no!" He said running after them. I quickly followed with Sam and Gail behind me.

"COLE!" Bill shouted when we entered a clearing. The Kong screeched and pointed us in the right direction. We found him up in a tree with the anaconda squeezing the life out of him. Bill ran right up under him. Then threw his knife at the snake stabbing it directly in the head killing it instantly. The snake's grip on Cole fell apart and Cole fell to the ground

"Get up Cole. Get up man. Wake up man." Bill said frantically shaking him. I ran over and checked his pulse

"He's not breathing!" Gail said

"He's got a pulse." I said then started CPR. After a few breaths Cole took a deep breath. When he started breathing, he flipped out again.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! GET OFF ME!" He shouted and we calmed him down

"It's okay, Cole it's us." I said to him

"I'm okay?" He asked after he calmed down

"Yeah you're okay." Gail said to him. I wanted him to rest a few minutes before we got moving again. Bill glared at the anaconda then got up and grabbed his knife.

* * *

><p>We found Jack about a half an hour later. We were looking down at him from this cliff.<p>

"Son of bitch finally got his orchid." I said

"Yeah he can have them. All I care about is that raft." Sam said then we crept away from there. We found the raft on the edge of the river at the bottom of the hill we were on.

"Oh thank God" Gail said running to the raft. Sam grabbed the bags that Jack had left on the shore. Just then she held up the specimen jar that the stone spider was in….or it used to be.

"I think I know what happened to Mitchell." She said, when Jack walked out of the trees holding a gun.

"I can't let you take that." He said pointing the gun at us.

"You guys look like hell." He said with a smirk

"You don't know what hell is." Gail said

"Oh I'm sorry but you gave me no choice."

"Did you give Mitchell a choice before you killed him?" Sam spat

"I didn't kill Mitchell." He said

"No you just let him die. I saw the spider bite on his arm."

"What was I supposed to do Sam? The right thing?" Jack said sarcastically

"It's always a good place to start." She said to him just then he took a shot hitting Bill in the arm I was going over to him when Jack grabbed me and pressed to gun to my head

"Let's not be stupid about this. This is what you were worried about right Bill? 'your family' from the looks of it she's all that's left. So I trust you'll corporate huh?" Jack said

"Now come on let's get to the flower and we can all go home." Jack said

He made us walked ahead of him but he kept to gun pointed at the back of my head. When we reached the cliff. Sam looked down

"The mating ball." Sam said I could hear the fear in her voice. All of a sudden Jack hit Bill in the head with the gun. Knocking him out

"You crazy bastard." I snapped at him

"Give me the flare." He said pointing the gun at Gail. She handed him the torch he stuck it in the ground. Then grabbed the backpack and dumped it out, he grabbed the rope from the pile then tossed it to Gail

"Tie him up. Now!" He snapped then snatched the torch from Sam then tossed the empty backpack at her

"Fill it up."

"You've got to be kidding me." She said. Just then he grabbed me by my hair and pressed the gun to my head again

"DO I LOOK LIKE I'M KIDDING?! FILL IT UP!" He screamed at her and she started to cry. She put the bag on her shoulder. Then climbed on the tree that acted as a bridge, when she stepped on it the tree moved a bit causing her to fall on her knees. She slowly moved to the other side

"GET UP!" Jack shouted as she reached the other side

"NOW GET THE FLOWERS!"

"Okay!" She cried as she began filling up the bag with the orchids. When she was done she slowly crawled back on to the tree. When she was about a quarter of the way back the tree started to slip, causing her to scream. It slipped again and the bag almost fell from her shoulder. Jack pushed me down, and rushed over the edge

"Throw me the pack." Jack said to her. She held the bag out

"DROP THE GUN!" She screamed. He just took the gun and fired a warning shot in Gail and Cole's direction

"Throw me the pack." He said again very calmly. I looked to my left to see Bill slowly getting up. I was about to move over to him but he held his hand to his lips signaling for me to stay quiet I nodded. I looked up just as Sam screamed, I saw her dangling on the edge of the tree. Jack turned to leave when Bill jumped up and punched him in the face. Which took a lot of energy out him from the blood loss

"Get up Bill! Get up!" Cole cheered. Jack quickly got to his feet and knocked Bill to the ground, then kicked him in the ribs. When Bill tried to get up, Jack kicked him again. He now was holding him by his neck near the ledge. He was about to hit him again when he stopped

"Get up!" Jack growled and threw Bill on the ground. I rushed to side as Gail and Cole went to help Sam.

"Bill." I said

"We got to help him." Bill said meaning Jack. I rolled my eyes and we rushed over to the cliff. Bill was holding out his hand

"Spider." Jack said. I knew what he meant, the stone spider was still somewhere in the backpack and had bit him

"Give me your hand." Bill said. When Jack tried to grab it the paralysis took over and he fell into the mating ball. When I heard another scream we looked over to see Sam hanging by her feet over the water. Then to make matters worse the tree broke, causing her to fall into the mating ball. She grabbed a vine and started climbing

"Come Sam! That it you got it!" I said holding my hand out to her

"Climb Sam keep coming!" Bill called

"Come on!" He kept shouting then grabbed her hand and pulled her out. When she was on her feet an anaconda slithered out of the pit. We all jumped back, I was standing next to Cole

"Oh shit. Oh shit." He started chanting

"HEY!" Gail called getting the snakes attention

"OVER HERE BITCH!" She shouted, when the snake came towards her she tossed the gas can in its mouth. The snake bit into the can spilling gas everywhere. I saw the gun that Jack had dropped I grabbed it and tried to fire but it was empty. The snake was about to attack when it got hit in the mouth with a flair. It fell back into the pit causing an explosion, which triggered a rock slide. The orchids and everything on that side was destroyed. We looked over the edge to see one anaconda still alive, when another giant rock fell crushing it. We all let out a breath of relief

"Holy shit." Bill said then he looked at Cole

"Nice shot."

"What can I say? I'm a bad man." He said and all of us let out a small laugh

* * *

><p>We walked back to the raft took some time to gather ourselves and for the rain to stop. Then we got on the river. Once the sun was out I was able to get a good look at Bill's arm. Cole was rowing, Sam was on the other side and surprisingly Kong was on Gail's shoulder.<p>

"Wow you two look like you made up." Cole said with a smile

"He's not so bad." Gail said with a smirk. Just as I finished wrapping Bill arm

"How's that?" I asked him

"Much better…..I think I'll live." He said then gave me a small smile

"You better I need you around." I said smiling back he leaned in just as our lips were about to touch. Gail cut in

"So how much farther to my bath?" She asked

"Kotabuaru? I'd say another day downriver." Bill answered

"Whoa another day? I'm not rowing another day homeboy." Cole said

"Alright let's see we got this shortcut right up-"

"NO!" We said at the same time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Three Years Later**

_When we finally reached_ _Kotabuaru, we were met by police, medics, and the media. Apparently after Jack had stolen the raft he called for help. We told the police everything that had happened since we set off on the river. It was of course a pretty difficult story to believe, but most of the locals knew it was true. Our story quickly became international news, and dozens of reporters for all over came to Borneo for an interview._

_Shortly after we got in Kotabuaru, and after we were checked out by the doctors and talked to the police. Bill kept his promise and we got married. It was just us, the minister, and of course Kong. We stayed in Kotabuaru for a week before Sam, Gail, and Cole left back to America, then Bill and I headed back to Padrang. When we got there we had to tell Tran's mother what happened to him. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. Bill gave her Tran's cut of the 50 grand, and we planned a small memorial for him. Bill wanted me to use the rest of the money for my clinic, but I told him to use it for a new boat. He did the new boat was a lot bigger and nicer than the 'Bloody Mary' but I knew it wasn't the same for Bill. Once the rainy season was over his business began booming. People thought of him as some sort of celebrity after what happened._

_My clinic on the other hand wasn't doing so hot. By the time I got back my primary sponsor had pulled out. Things were looking bad, and I thought for a while I would have to shut down. Until one day I got a letter in the mail from Wexell-Hall, offering to fund the clinic for almost twice as much as my last sponsor. I immediately responded yes, and sent a big thank you bouquet to Gail. Things were pretty much looking up for us._

_Of course we had our small problems and stuff like that. Our biggest problem was when my parents came out here. They showed up about two or three months after everything. It was a big shock for me when they along with my sister just showed up at the clinic. When they got there they started immediately judging everything I did or was doing. They told me I was coming home with them, it was big fight when I refused. It blew up when they met Bill, they hated everything about him. They didn't like the way he looked, they hated his job. Then my mom began talking about one of my ex's and how he would love to marry me. That's when Bill snapped and told her we were already married, which caused another fight. When they left our house they told me I had 24 hours to choose between them or Bill. I told them I didn't need 24 hours and I was staying with my husband, and that was the last time I've seen or spoke to them. I didn't need them especially since Bill and I were starting our own family…_

* * *

><p>"On three Malia push." My midwife said to me. As Bill took my hand<p>

"One, two, three push." She said and I pushed as hard as I good

"Good, now get ready. One, two, three push." She said and I did this hurt like hell

"You're doing good mama, our son will be here before you know it." Bill said in my ear. He was so sure it was a boy

"One, two three push!" I pushed really hard this time

"Okay Malia I can see the head I need you to push once more really big one this time okay?"

"Okay." I said

"One, two, three push!" I pushed as hard as I could then I heard the most beautiful sound in the world my baby

"It's a boy!" She said I looked at Bill his smile was so big I thought his face would split

"You want to cut the cord dad?" She asked Bill who nodded eagerly. He cut the cord then turned back to me and kissed me

"He's beautiful Lia, you did so good baby." He said to me

"Here he is mommy." She said then place my son in my arms. I've never seen someone so perfect, and he came from me.

"He's perfect." I said

"Yeah he is." Bill said he's smile has never left his face

"He is so beautiful."

"I think he takes after me." Bill said I raised my eyebrow at him

"You think you're beautiful." I joked

"You fell for it." He said and I rolled my eyes

"You want to hold your son daddy?" I asked him and he looked hesitant

"I don't want to hurt him." He said

"You won't come here." I said and he moved next to me

"Say hi to daddy." I said placing the baby in his arms.

"What should we name him?" Bill asked

"I don't know. We probably should've thought about this a while ago." I said with a laugh and Bill nodded

"How about Lucas?" I suggested

"I like it. How about you little man? Huh? Do you like that name?" Bill said in baby talk making me smile. He walked over to the bed and sat next to me

"Welcome to world Lucas Tran Johnson." I said Bill and I talked about somehow naming the baby after Tran. Just then the nurse came in asking for the name of baby Jin-Soon. That still got a laugh out of me, once we gave her the information she left the room

"I love you Mr. Jin-Soon." I said to Bill with a laugh.

"I love you too Mrs. Jin-Soon." He said then pressed a kiss to my lips.


End file.
